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A Glimpse of Poverty in Urban Burkina Faso

The main urban centers in Burkina Faso are Ouagadougou, the capital city, and Bobo-Dioulasso, the economic heart of the country.

In recent years rural immigrants have flocked to these cities in search of work, swelling slums and the number of job seekers and stressing public services. Most immigrants lack formal education or professional skills.

Many children living in these areas can’t go to school because there aren’t enough public schools and private schools are too expensive.

Every day thousands of children are in the streets shining shoes, working in bicycle repair shops, pushing rickshaws, or selling water for their employers.

Girls go door-to-door with large plates on their heads selling fruits and vegetables to support their families.

In addition, female genital mutilation is still claiming victims among young girls.

Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in western Africa. The three primary rivers are the Nazinon, the Nakambé and the Mouhoun. The climate is tropical, with warm, dry winters and hot, rainy summers.

Economy

In Burkino Faso, about 44 percent of the urban population lives below the poverty line. It is one of the poorest countries in the world. With few natural resources the Burkinabe are forced to travel to neighboring countries for seasonal agricultural work and to labor in mines and on plantations.

Children at Home

Although many urban homes are relatively modernized with electricity and running water, urban poor have little access to these amenities.

The disparity between the rich and the poor is no more evident than in the cities of Burkina Faso.

Extended family is very important to the Burkinabe. It is not uncommon for three or more generations to live under one roof.

Culture Corner

RICE WITH PEANUT SAUCE

People in urban Burkina Faso like rice, and one of their favorite sauces that goes with rice is peanut sauce. Here is how this dish is prepared.

Ingredients:

3 - 4 oz peanut butter

1 onion, chopped

2 fresh tomatoes, chopped

1 tbsp tomato puree

2 lbs meat or fish, cut into serving-sized pieces

2 hot chili peppers

Salt, to taste

1 chicken bouillon cube

Peanut oil (for frying)

4 - 6 c cooked rice

Directions:

Pour about 2 tbsp peanut oil to a large pan. Add the meat (or fish), onion and tomatoes. Fry for about 5 minutes, or until the onion softens.

Add the chili peppers and stir in the tomato puree. Fry for 1 minute, then season to taste with salt.

Add 1 2/3 c water and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes. At this point, use some of the stock to dilute the peanut paste and stir into the stew.

Bring back to a brisk simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, or until the oil separates from the peanut sauce and comes to the surface of the dish. Continue simmering for a few minutes more, then serve hot with cooked rice.

Typically the chili peppers are crushed into the sauce to make the dish spicier, but you can remove them at this point for a milder taste.

Not many Burkinabe receive a formal education. Only about 30 percent of the adult population can read or write.

Only about one-third of Burkina Faso children are enrolled in elementary school. Most schools are in cities.

Some tribal practices bar children, particularly girls, from school. Girls under 15 are frequently forced into early marriage and out of the school system.

Pervasive poverty also dictates that children work, sometimes performing grueling labor in mines, rather than attend school.

Compassion Burkina Faso works to ensure that every registered child is able to attend school, and it provides additional support, including tutoring, at the child development centers.

At the Compassion Child Development Center

Child development centers provide registered children with a place to learn, grow and study.

Children whose families have never been able to offer them clean water, health care or an education now have access to these necessities.

Compassion-assisted children attend health classes, tutoring sessions and Bible studies at the center.

They also spend time writing to and praying for their sponsors.

What Compassion Sponsorship Provides

In partnership with local churches, Compassion is bringing real help and hope to impoverished children in urban Burkina Faso, providing:

regular nutritious meals and snacks

health checkups and medical care as needed

education reinforcement, especially for girls. Compassion believes that a child’s place is in a classroom, where he or she can prepare for a better future rather than laboring to help meet their families’ financial needs.

programs to help partner churches actively combat all forms of abuse and exploitation of children for commercial or economic purposes

school tuition, which eases parents’ economic burden and ensures children’s education and the promise of a brighter future

parent education, including training in income-generating activities that will enable them to better meet the needs of their families